A biased look at psychology in the world

August 19, 2013

Are Video Games Addictive?

In 2005, Shanghai gamer Qiu Chengwei
stabbed a friend to death when he found out that he had sold a virtual
sword belonging to Chengwei on eBay for 7,200 yuan ($738). After
narrowly avoiding a death sentence, Chengwei was sentenced to life
imprisonment.

In 2009, an Ohio court sentenced 17 year-old Daniel Petric to 23 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his mother. Petric had shot both his parents
after they took away his copy of Halo 3. During his trial, the court
was told that Petric had become addicted to the game after being left
housebound following a jetski injury.

In 2011, Rebecca Colleen Christie
was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a New Mexico court for allowing
her 3 ½ year-old daughter to die of malnutrition while she spent hours
playing World of Warcraft.

Is it possible to become addicted to video games?

While addiction
remains a prime concern in most societies, whether drug addiction,
alcohol addiction, gambling addiction, etc., becoming addicted to video
games seems more controversial despite high-profile cases like the ones
listed above. Media stories about extreme cases of video game
addiction, especially online games, goes back to at least 1993 when Wired ran a story on MUDs (multi-user dungeons) and the players who become addicted to them.

In the newly-released Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-V), Internet Gaming Disorder has been included among the
conditions being considered for future study and possible addition to
later DSM editions. At this time, however, video game addiction (GA)
is not considered to be a mental disorder. Still, research suggests
that 0.5 percent of all gamers and 1.7 percent of ninth graders experience symptoms associated with excessive video game use. Along with Online Gamers Anonymous
in the United States, clinics for video game addicts have been
established in countries around the world including China, the
Netherlands, and Australia. Even conventional addiction treatment
clinics have been noting a rise in referrals for gaming addiction.